As the light fanned across the horizon, marking the dawn of a new day, a middle aged general was busy at work. The general, General Ridon, as he was called by, was nearing his fortieth birthday. He was a well built man, with knotted muscles that could easily be seen without a shirt. His build, along with his length, which was a little more than average, made him ideal in the field of combat. He had twenty years under his belt as an experienced archer, which led him to be venerated by the lower ranks. Along with his physical appearance, he was calm and articulated his words carefully. Unlike most fire nation generals, General Ridon did not resort to yelling at his comrades. Overall, he was a well respected man, and there was much good to say of him.
The general was up for nearly an hour by this early time in the day. Washed in the small stream that was adjacent to the camp, and having a well fed breakfast of bread and cheese, the general was well under way to writing a lengthy letter to the Fire lord on the important need for new archers. He had written about the retirement of the archer Yu Taow. Yu Taow was the eldest and most experienced of the archers. Gifted with great talent for the bow, Yu Taow had served the archers faithfully for nearly forty years. Unfortunately, age overtook the powerful man and General Ridon had no choice but to let him leave. Retirement was the gift that only the best of the best would be able to reach, for along with joining any branch of the Fire Nation army, the risk of surviving was little to none.
With that being said, the Yu Yan was down on archers, and, not to mention the recent rebellions to the west of the archers camp. General Ridon's archers were pressured to perform more than ever.
Although the fire nation was on the winning side of the war, contemporary rebellions in the earth kingdom had taken a tole on the offence nation. At this time, the war was on its ninetieth year with the audacious Fire Lord Azulon in charge. Armies on the western side of the Earth Kingdom, near the fire nation colonies, were tied up with earthen rebels who wanted to brake free of there wretched conquerors. So, even though the Fire Nation armies truly wanted to be brought back home to there families on the islands, the solders were taught that turning there heads in the thick of battle was the biggest disgrace to any faithful citizen. The fear of blacking there name and being ostracized by those closest to them, left the solders in check and on the battlefield.
The nation's armies greatly affected the Yu Yan. Commanders were weary of their drooping solders, and gave many of there tasks to the elite Yu Yang archers. The archers were finding themselves in the solders job's.
The Yu Yan themselves were a counter part of the Fire Nation army. The archers were open for those few chosen warriors who did not harness the power to manipulate fire and who were sharp with the bow and arrow. In the archer encampment they bread the most talented spies and assassins in the nation, and in probably in the world. They were given the toughest assassination and tracking missions. Meandering through the Earth Kingdom to kill the top generals of the earthen army, tracking earth benders throughout the kingdom, and slaying the Fire Nations top wanted, the Yu Yan were the most sought after of the elite.
As being a general in the misted of rebellious outbreaks, Ridon was constantly under the pressure of the Fire Lord, whom had chosen the Yu Yan to slaughter the rebellion. So, due to all of the pressure to perform, perhaps it was just luck to General Ridon. Or perhaps it was the great gods of fire to send down their help to the vile nation, but whatever it was, it definitely come to aid the fire nation, and what ever it was it came in the fragile form of a boy.
The boy was light skinned and had a thin figure. His length was about average for a boy his age. Dark hair and amber eyes exposed a Fire Nation nationality. He wore leather boots that bore the Fire Nation insignia, and his clothing consisted of reds and dark whites. Slung over his back were a brown mud color bag, and an arrow pouch. Clung in his left hand was a simple bow made of commenwood.
If the boy's sudden appearance surprised the general, than he did not show it. Instead, the general just gave one glance at the child and motioned him to sit down. The boy sat on the ground across from the general. It was when he was seated the general spoke.
"What brings you to our archers encampment at this time during dawn."
"I want to become an archer." The boy answered the question in a quick and innocent tone.
The general was pleased with that comment; after all they needed another archer. But would this child have what it takes to become an archer? He did bring a bow and arrow, that was a good sigh, but how well could he use it?
"Are you exceptionally good with the bow and arrow? Can you pin a fly to a tree."
The boy was not displaced by this comment, but just politely replied, "I don't know if I could pin a fly to a tree, but I do know how to use the bow and arrow. My teachers told me I had the best shot in the class."
The generals eyes narrowed as he asked in curiosity, "Where are you from?"
"The colony to the north of here." The boy replied and then went on the say, "My mother is a weaver, and my father is in the army."
"Do you know how to bend then?"
"No." the child answered, "The gift was never passed on to me. My father is the only one who can bend in the family."
Although it was unusual for a child who is related to a bender to be unable to bend, It was not unheard of. The general just continued to question him.
"What is your name?"
"Tai, Tai Xun."
"And age?"
"I'm fourteen."
The general stood to study him. The boy did look fit for the part of an archer, a little thin, but fit alright. General Ridon decided to test the boy. If times were not as desperate for the Yu Yan, he would have sent the boy home. But the general just questioned the boy a little more.
"You do realize that the Yu Yan is one of the most elite groups in the military."
"Yes."
"And you do realize it will take years to become a real Yu Yang archer."
"Yes."
"Do you realize then, that we will put you through great physical pain to become one of us? And that the chance of you surviving the next ten years will be very low."
"Yes, Yes I do."
"Well then." The general concluded, "Lets see your talent in archery."
General Ridon stood up and motioned the boy to leave the tent. The archery field was right outside. Tai stood about sixty feet from the target. The target it self, was a small piece of wood with orange and red circles inside each other. To the Yu Yan these targets were easy. They could pierce five arrows into the center in less than a minute. To a young archer, this target was tricky. The circles were smaller than the average target. And the bulls' eye was only a half an inch in length. General Ridon was watching for how many arrows he could get on target. If Tai passed this test, than the general would present him with harder challenges. Depending on how the child preformed on these trials would show if, in fact the boy did have what it took to become a Yu Yang archer.
Tai strung an arrow on the bow, and waited for the general's ok to fire.
"Fire." The general finally called loudly. Pulling the string of the bow as far back as Tai could, he lined up the tip of the arrow with the center of the target. He aimed it only a few inches above the middle circle so it would arch onto and pin through the bulls' eye. Tai then let the arrow go, it whizzed in the air like a bullet. A sharp THWACK hit the target as it dug into its very center.
"Again." The general said.
The child repeated the motion four times. After the shooting was over, General Ridon went to the target to investigate. Five arrows were stuck deep into the circles. Three had landed in the bulls' eye. The other two were stuck in the next circle outside of the center. Three out of five was pretty good. The general smiled.
"Not perfect but enough to pass." Was the generals verdict.
The boy gave a quite nod. General Ridon was happy at this reply. The Yu Yan archers were a silent group. After all, keeping silent reduced the chances of being herd by the enemy on certain missions. Silence was one of the qualities the general looked for when choosing a new archer. Too many times has the general come across boastful boys who talked too much. Granted to say, many boys have failed to become one of the Yu Yan because they would not shut up.
As the day continued to fly by, General Ridon tested Tai to a series of trials. Shooting from far away, shooting moving targets, and shooting blindfold had proven no challenge to Tai, although the boy did have trouble shooting up side down. But by the impressive skill that Tai preformed to the general, shooting up side down hardly made any dent into the child's acceptance into the Yu Yan.
When nearly all the tests were done, it was dusk. As the sun slowly sank into the west, General Ridon became even more impressed by the boy's talent. A screaming arrow whizzed through the air and landed on target. Tai looked at the general, weighting to have his next order. The general smiled, and then he couldn't help but crack a chuckle.
"Well, you do have the skill." The general laughed, "I guess I'll just have to do it then. Put you through the final test." General Ridon gave a smile, re-showing his lighter, less serious side.
"And what is this test?" Tai asked seriously, clearly not impressed by General Ridon's borray of laughter.
"The final test? Well let's just say you will be going hunting, at night, for the one and only… wild lion-boar!"
Tai was nearly stunned, but managed to keep his emotions inside. The wild lion-boars were deadly and ferocious creatures that lurked in the western forests of the Earth Kingdom. They were the size of a large pony and hanging from there mouths were two yellow fangs that were as sharp as a newly sharpened knife. It was nearly impossible to kill them, for there thick brownish main covered most of there body. Hunters were warned not to go in the forests at night, and they were told to never go out alone. For a lone boy, to commit to slay this beast was like committing to die a slow and painful death.
"Do you want me to hunt this tonight?" Tai finally asked in a serious tone, despite his fear of the beast.
"Yes of course, we need new archers as soon as we can get them."
Tai envisioned the wretched lion-boar he was to hunt. Fear crawled over him like fire ant-flies from the islands of the Fire Nation. The boy watched the last light fall over the horizon, the shadows of the woods grew as they danced until they overtook the forest completely. The eerie dusk wind seemed to sing a melancholy song, as if predicting the death of a child. Trees swayed in this wind as if waving to Tai, as if waving to say, come, come into our forest and see the beast we harbor.
As the last light fell over the distant horizon, Tai took his first steps toured the forest. One dreaded step after another, one dreaded step closer and closer to a never-ending death by fangs.
"Come back to the camp at first light if you don't see a lion-boar, if you do successfully slay one, the come back as soon as possible, but only after you slay a lion-boar!" General Ridon called, though he doubting the child was going to exit the forest at all.
And with General Ridon's last breath, Tai disappeared into the trees.